


Rayla's Flower.

by orphan_account



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Ethari POV, Gen, Parent Ethari (The Dragon Prince), THROUGH THE MOON SPOILERS, Through the Moon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:55:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27077632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ethari's heart stops when he saw Rayla's flower sink.Dead. His Rayla is dead. And he doesn't know what to do without her.CONTAINS MILD THROUGH THE MOON SPOILERS !!
Relationships: Ethari & Rayla & Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Ethari & Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Ethari/Runaan (The Dragon Prince), Rayla & Runaan (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 105





	Rayla's Flower.

The flower.  
  
It sunk.  
  
Rayla’s flower, the only one flower out of all the others who’s still floating. Rayla’s flower, who’s been his only source of hope, these days. Rayla’s flower, his daughter’s flower, sunk.  
  
She’s dead.  
  
And Ethari cries. For her, for his family. Again, for the millionth time in his life.  
  
And this time, this _one_ time, it was finally his fault.  
  
He knew Rayla was too young, too kind to be an assassin. How could he _not_ known? Rayla was the little elf who cried when she accidentally stepped on a bug. She was the girl who named all the flowers in the garden and greeted them by their given names every morning and night. She was his daughter who demanded a proper elven burial when a bird died on their porch. He shouldn’t have let her come with Runaan.  
  
And when Rayla came back home for him—dear god, he should have let her stay. He should’ve let her come back home. Who knew what she had been through? She must’ve been scared, traumatized, and he should’ve protected her—that was his job. That was his only job. Tiadrin and Lain trusted of their daughter to him, and now she’s dead.  
  
Rayla’s dead.   
  


Ethari bangs his knuckles into the stones surrounding the small pool. Even the pain that it caused doesn’t feel painful anymore. Not compared to the storm of feelings inside him.  
  
Rayla’s dead.  
  
He was so used of glancing at the pool every morning to assure himself that she still had someone left in this world. That Rayla was still alive, and well, and that he’s not all alone here. Rayla _will_ come back home—he was sure of it  
  
But then the flower sunk.  
  
First his friends, then his husband’s, then his daughter’s. He really had nobody left.  
  
 _And this time, it was my fault._  
  
Rayla’s dead.  
  
He wanted to grab the flower from the bottom of the pool and bring it back up, make it float again, as if it would also bring his Rayla back to life. The small girl who’s fascinated by everything, who looked up to both him and Runaan like they were the most amazing person she’s ever seen. The small girl who runs around the meadow like she was a deer, who befriends the small creatures, whose smile would light up his world like she was a thousand glowing stars in the sky.  
  
His Rayla.  
  
She’s dead.  
  
And Ethari was never going to forgive himself.  
  
He takes a good look at her flower one more time before realizing that it was sinking, not sunk. His shaking hands reached for her flower, trying to make it stay afloat as long as possible before it bottom of the lake along with all the others. Like it would prevent her from dying. _Dying_ —not dead yet. Dying.  
  
There’s still hope, even if it’s only a little.  
  
_“Please, Rayla,” he_ pleads softly to himself, begging the flower to stay afloat. “ _Please. I’m sorry. Keep fighting, please.”  
  
_ Ethari prayed to every single powerful beings he could think of. He can’t do this. He can’t live knowing everyone he’s ever loved has died. He _needs_ Rayla.  
  
And to his surprise, the flower stopped sinking.  
  
His heartbeat seemed to stop for a moment, the same way it did when he first saw the flower gone. _Come on, Rayla. Come on. Come on. Keep fighting, please. I can’t do this with you gone.  
  
_ It stays there, for a while, as if Rayla was fighting for her life, fighting to stay awake. His Rayla. His strong, determined, powerful Rayla. _You have to keep fighting. Please.  
  
_ And she did.  
  
She kept fighting, all the way until the flower was floating above the water again. She survived. She’s alive. _She’s alive. Rayla’s alive._  
  
Ethari let out a long sigh, inhaling as much air into his lungs as possible—he didn’t realize that he was holding his breath until the surge of relief overcame him. He pressed his forehead on the cold, solid rock, his hand still holding on to Rayla’s flower as if he was afraid it’s going to sink if he doesn’t.  
  
Rayla’s alive. She’s _alive._  
  
And he has to make sure she stays like that.  
  
Ethari stood up shakily, this time with a plan on his mind, a determined look on his face.  
  
He’s going to find his little girl and bring her home.  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Dad Ethari ,,, Dad Runaan ,,,, Small Rayla ,,,,, im soft


End file.
